{"id":636,"date":"2012-03-01T19:00:04","date_gmt":"2012-03-02T00:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/smalltownamerica\/?p=636"},"modified":"2012-02-28T10:17:45","modified_gmt":"2012-02-28T15:17:45","slug":"sleeping-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/smalltownamerica\/2012\/03\/sleeping-children.html","title":{"rendered":"Sleeping Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even the most rambunctious child is peaceful and quiet when sleeping.\u00a0 It does’t matter what kind of mischief they have gotten into during the day or what level of frustration you have reached; when they sleep they are adorable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>My grand-daughter has her two special friends with her here to keep her company.\u00a0 During the day, she is a ball of energy and always talking a mile a minute.\u00a0 (Our son, her father, was nick named Motor Mouth and Jabber Jaws when he was little, so that seems natural.)\u00a0 I love to play with Erin and we bake\u00a0 cookies together, but she is always talking.<\/p>\n

She has so much to say about her friends and school, her new\u00a0bike and her older sister.\u00a0 Erin is also full of questions.\u00a0 How does this work?\u00a0 Why do birds sing?\u00a0 Why do I have to wear a coat today?\u00a0 Grandma, what are you doing?\u00a0 Grandma, can I have a cookie?\u00a0 Why did Puffy (my cat)\u00a0have to die?<\/p>\n

Aren’t God’s children a lot like this?\u00a0 We are so busy talking we can’t hear what God is saying to us.\u00a0 We want to know why everything happens the way it does.\u00a0 Why do I have cancer?\u00a0 Why did I lose my job?\u00a0 Where is the rent money coming from?\u00a0 Why can’t I find my ministry?\u00a0 What is my purpose in life?<\/p>\n

The problem is we need to quiet ourselves in order to listen to the Lord.\u00a0 Sometimes we claim that He doesn’t answer our prayers.\u00a0 I believe He does, always, answer our prayers.\u00a0 We may not hear him, or we may not like His answer, but He is a faithful God.<\/p>\n

God even speaks to us through our dreams.\u00a0 That may be the only time we are quiet. God likes to watch His children sleep too.\u00a0 When we trust in the Lord, we can feel safe.\u00a0 Psalm 4:8 “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even the most rambunctious child is peaceful and quiet when sleeping.\u00a0 It does’t matter what kind of mischief they have gotten into during the day or what level of frustration you have reached; when they sleep they are adorable. 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